It’s the second consecutive important month for the city of Tianjin.
Located 60 km southeast of Beijing, Tianjin is one of China’s four city
municipalities (along with Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing) and is
being strategically developed as both a leading port and the financial
services centre of northern China.
- Hangzhou was named the best place to do business in China for the
fifth consecutive year in a Forbes survey. Shanghai was placed second
as Beijing remained in sixth position
for the second straight year. Wuxi was third, Nanjing fourth and Ningbo
fifth placed. Forbes China short-listed 194 mainland cities from over 650 with an annual GDP above RMB19 bn in 2006.
- China faces a double-digit decline in foreign sales of high
energy consuming products in the first half of 2008. "Efforts to reduce
exports of such goods began to pay off," the General Administration of
Customs said.
- Hong Kong's timepiece industry's total export value rose to HKD25 bn, which is a 17.3 per cent rise in the first half of 2008 year-on-year, officials in Hong Kong said.
China plans to grow genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans for the first time ever starting in 2009, Bloomberg reports. In contrast to several European countries, China already allows imports of GM crops.
Fiat May Miss China Sales Target
Italian carmaker Fiat will struggle to meet its sales target in China, CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a statement. "The goal of selling 300,000 units in China by 2010 is under threat," he said. To further grow, Fiat has signed an agreement with Chery Automobile to start a joint production site next year, but the Turin-based automaker is also looking for other partners, including Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group. Fiat also announced that it will launch a new low-cost car in 2010, which may be produced in China.
